Regardless of the outcome, all the players will be dealing with one major concern that isn’t going away. Sam Eaton explained on today’s Marketplace.

Watch President Obama’s press conference after announcement of the agreement on the Associated Press Web site.

Here’s a draft of the Copenhagen Accord. (PDF)

On the political front, John Dimsdale reported on how the conference’s difficulty at reaching an agreement is playing in Washington.

He also had a very interesting blog post earlier in the week about the missing “P” word at the talks.

The importance of population size in gauging emissions trends was raised by Chinese officials here, who noted that their one-child policies reduced births by 400 million and emissions of carbon dioxide by some 18 million tons a year. In the first week of the meeting, Zhao Baige, vice minister of the National Population and Family Planning Commission, said the policies had some mixed consequences, with the country now aging and facing a paucity of girls. “I’m not saying that what we have done is 100 percent right, but I’m sure we are going in the right direction and now 1.3 billion people have benefited,” she said.

Protesters have been making their presence known on the streets of Copenhagen during the U.N. climate change conference. See the slideshow by Marketplace sustainability reporter Sam Eaton.

Denmark is far ahead of the United States in moving to a clean economy. Sam Eaton reported today on the sacrifice the Danes are making to build a low-carbon future. One couple he featured, Kaspar Olesen and Susanne Nielsen (above), showed him their home’s 1949 vintage oil furnace, which the government helped them replace. See Sam’s slideshow too.

Two giants in the discussions, the United States and China, are the world’s largest emitters of heat-trapping gases. From Shanghai, Marketplace’s Scott Tong reports on the big disagreements they have over how much carbon to cut and who should pay for it.

On Tuesday, over 80 mayors from large cities from around the world got together for the Copenhagen Climate Summit for Mayors. The point of the summit is to get the leaders at COP15 and the public to show what local governments can do. Some mayors even had a chance to show off how their cities are already trying to be energy efficient. From urban planning to clean energy to waste management - the cities at this meeting had something to tout.

Here are some videos that were shown at Tuesday’s opening press conference to kick off the summit.

Stephen Beard talked with Marketplace Morning Report host Bill Radke about how the participating nations are close to an agreement on deforestation. He also reported on the speech by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who highlighted the power of new ideas.

Also on today’s Morning Report host Steve Chiotakis talked with David Bresch of the Swiss Reinsurance Company about how insurance companies are getting ready for the impacts of climate change.

On the Marketplace PM show, sustainability reporter Sam Eaton talked with host Kai Ryssdal about why corporate leaders are in Copenhagen, and what the mood is like during the last days of the conference.

And Stephen Beard added yet another report on how the conference’s poorer delegates are finding it tough just coping in Copenhagen.

For those lucky enough to get inside the Bella Center on Monday, where the UN climate conference is happening, you were probably: 1) warm and 2) witnessed the halt of negotiations.

The rift between the rich and poor countries hit a climax today when meetings were put on pause.

Developing countries, including India and China, want rich countries to make deeper cuts in their greenhouse gas emissions - basically they want to extend the Kyoto Protocol to the rich nations. After 3 hours of the walk-out the talks resumed. It was a good play for the developing countries because it got people’s attention at the meeting as well as the media.

It also got the attention of UK prime minister Gordon Brown who decided to move up his travel plans to Copenhagen in fear that talks are unraveling. He’ll stay until the meetings are over. Also, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has decided to attend COP15. More leaders are expected to trickle in this week in hopes to sign a treaty on Friday when the meeting will conclude. President Barack Obama is expected to arrive early Friday morning.

Let’s see if all this star power will get the talks back on track and a treaty signed by the end of the week. Be sure to check out Marketplace Morning Report all this week to hear what business leaders want to see at the end of COP15.

I’m not talking about the global leaders descending upon Copenhagen in the final days of the negotiations - I’m talking about the protesters who have already started to get arrested and more demonstrators on their way.

(Photo by InvestigateWest via Flickr)

Why is everyone coming this weekend? Well, this weekend is the global day of action to bring attention to climate change. Climate change activist groups like 350.org and tcktcktck have planned events to get negotiators to make a real deal on climate change on Saturday and Sunday. These groups don’t want some gesture or symbolic treaty - they want a global binding treaty.

But not all the groups that will be protesting this weekend want the same thing.

Anti-capitalism groups actually want the meetings to stop. Why? It’s not that they hate the earth or that they don’t believe in climate change, it’s because some think this event is about big business and money. They are partly right though because money has been at the forefront at these meetings. Poor nations want rich nations to pay up, and Europe said they actually can put in some money to help poor nations, and of course there are hundreds of businesses who are showing off their innovations to battle climate change.

The United Nations climate change conferences aren’t known to have rough and rowdy protests like the WTO meetings. But with the so much at stake, who knows what might happen this weekend.

The real question is if these groups get through to any of the negotiators who are making the decisions.

Get it? Melting? Global warming?

I’m going to sidestep the questions about politics and art and just say that it’s all quite aesthetically pleasing. Here’s the World Wildlife Federation’s Copenhagen Ice Bear:

Absolutely stunning.

It started as a full bear, but as it melts, the skeleton is revealed … making the point that … the polar bears are melting?

Meanwhile, Oxfam is poised to unveil tomorrow its Maasai warrior on ice. They spent all day today working on it.

Good to see them using an electric chain saw there.

And this is “Delay Kills,” also sponsored by Oxfam, which was at last year’s COP14 in Poland.